1923
William
2016
William Baer
December 4, 1923 — April 19, 2016
William (Billy) J. Baer, age 92, of Havertown, PA, passed away on April 19, 2016. Born in Norristown, PA, he was the son of the late John L. and Sophie Baer (nee Roehm).
Billy served in the Merchant Marines from 1943-1946. During that time, he traveled the world. He rounded Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope on a couple of occasions, climbed a mountain in the Azores, enjoyed leave in the UK and fell in love with the sea. After the war, he went to work on the Pennsylvania Railroad, rebuilding tracks. Each day he would commute from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to Penn Station in New York City and then take a subway to Long Island. He worked briefly as a union organizer. He finally started working for the telephone company around 1950, starting as a line installer and worked his way up to an auditor. He retired in 1985.
Billy learned to play the bagpipes at the age of 50. No easy feat. He played them for about 30 years. During that time, he was part of a marching band. He taught himself how to cane chairs and how to rush chairs. His favorite pastime in retirement was volunteering on a World War II Liberty ship
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the John W. Brown. He spent 25+ years as part of the "crew" that kept the ship running and sea-worthy. Originally, it was mostly the men who sailed these ships during World War II, but over the years, others joined the cause. He loved the ship and the guys that became his friends.
William is survived by his beloved wife, Celeste Baer (nee Scanlan) and his three children Christine Baer, Jeff Baer (Monique) and Greg Baer (Clare).
A Memorial Service will be held in the future.
Contributions in William's name to Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846, Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, MD 21224-0546 www.ssjohnwbrown.com would be appreciated.
Billy served in the Merchant Marines from 1943-1946. During that time, he traveled the world. He rounded Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope on a couple of occasions, climbed a mountain in the Azores, enjoyed leave in the UK and fell in love with the sea. After the war, he went to work on the Pennsylvania Railroad, rebuilding tracks. Each day he would commute from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to Penn Station in New York City and then take a subway to Long Island. He worked briefly as a union organizer. He finally started working for the telephone company around 1950, starting as a line installer and worked his way up to an auditor. He retired in 1985.
Billy learned to play the bagpipes at the age of 50. No easy feat. He played them for about 30 years. During that time, he was part of a marching band. He taught himself how to cane chairs and how to rush chairs. His favorite pastime in retirement was volunteering on a World War II Liberty ship
-
the John W. Brown. He spent 25+ years as part of the "crew" that kept the ship running and sea-worthy. Originally, it was mostly the men who sailed these ships during World War II, but over the years, others joined the cause. He loved the ship and the guys that became his friends.
William is survived by his beloved wife, Celeste Baer (nee Scanlan) and his three children Christine Baer, Jeff Baer (Monique) and Greg Baer (Clare).
A Memorial Service will be held in the future.
Contributions in William's name to Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846, Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, MD 21224-0546 www.ssjohnwbrown.com would be appreciated.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of William Baer, please visit our flower store.
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